The Bee Maiden and her Bursting Bonnet

Nyuki* is a bee maiden. She travels with the hive she bonded with as a child, and can sing the name of every bee. The hive’s honey is a magical balm and can heal even the most grievous of wounds. Beside her is the Bee Girl. She is a friend to all the hives.

For the topic “Burst” at Illustration Friday. Made for a trade at illustratedatcs.com. Tons of progress pics below! I struggled mightily with the eyes, as you will see.

And since I’ve started doing more elaborate envelope art, I am including a few of my favorite envelope images:

I really am loving the way you contrast rich pattern against solid colour – works really well. Super clever idea with the Bee maiden! What´s all this about envelope art? Those beasties are stunning – do they take up the whole of the back or a part of the front of the envelope? When did you start doing that?

Thank you! I have been doing simple flowers and things since I started trading ATCs, but then I started doing a bit more elaborate ones because the different paper style of the envelope makes the markers look pretty cool. Sometimes if I’m stumped for an idea I’ll just doodle out an envelope. You can see the black blocks are the addresses. These are mainly the left side of the envelope, which then gets totally covered in clear packing tape, for extra sturdiness and protection. (Maybe next time I’ll just show the whole envelope for a better idea, though the right side is generally neglected.) :)

You must have had bees buzzing and “beeing” pesty just like me lately. They won’t leave me alone. But no bites. I guess I just smell like flowers or something. But I wasn’t inspired to do bee art. Way to bee proactive!

Oh, I like them honeybees. I think I would get along with these women, and they would be happy to know that I planted a tree in my front yard that honeybees love to congregate on. Ever seen that B monster movie called The Wasp Woman? It sucks.

I’m highly allergic to bee stings, so the 2 bee-releated pieces make me a bit squeamish! But I’m really lovin’ the envelope art! The characters on the ends look a little stoned! What’s going on in your studio, Cindy? ;)